Kelly Fast, current head of NASA’s PDCO (Planetary Defense Coordination Office), explains IAWN (the International Asteroid Warning Network) in a Nature piece (well, Nature Reviews Physics– a Nature title). https://www.nature.com/articles/s42254-025-00912-7May Chiao, 05 January 2026 Inside the International Asteroid Warning Network… Read More »Nature Interviews Kelly Fast
The James Webb Space Telescope certainly is capable. A better question: given the limited time James Webb has to observe, what should we prioritize, what should be handed off to other (lesser, let’s say) telescopes, and what about all the… Read More »JWST Survey: Small-Body Science
Just in the latest Nature issue (vol 649 #8098): https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-00188-6Michael Eisenstein, 21 January 2026 Seven technologies to watch in 2026 “Scientists excel at discovering limits — and then pushing beyond them.” The illustrious journal Nature cites the pusher, Vera Rubin.… Read More »To Watch the Watchers?
Catching up yet again with Advances In Space Research for 15 Jan 2026 (vol. 77 #2), a mid-month issue: Liu, D. Yan, W. Liu, J. et al. Close-proximity imaging and 3D modeling simulation analysis of asteroid 2016HO3 Pg 2637 .2025.12.002Wu,… Read More »Note, Paper: Close… Maybe Too Close
As I had briefly mentioned: the Catalina Sky Survey, one of Earth’s premiere asteroid detector systems, is hiring an observatory tech (or two): https://arizona.csod.com/ux/ats/careersite/4/home/requisition/24868Survey Operations Specialist, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (updated) One prerequisite: you’ll be on a mountaintop, in the… Read More »Catalina Sky Survey Hiring
Nothing from Space Science Reviews for a while, then Boom (vol. 222): Palomba, E. Dirri, F. Gisellu, C. et al. VISTA: Dust and Volatile Sensor for the ESA Hera Mission 10 s11214-026-01266-x The Hera mission to asteroid Didymos and its… Read More »Space Science Reviews Milani-VISTA
Yes, it’s time again for SBAG (NASA Small Bodies Assessment Group), this time the Winter meeting: 34th Meeting of the NASA Small Bodies Assessment Group (SBAG)January 13–14, 2026 https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/sbagjan2026/technical_program/?session_no=101 Tuesday, January 13, 2026, 8:30 AM8:30 AM Darryl Seligman Early-Career Icebreaker9:25… Read More »2026 Winter SBAG Meeting, 1
The call is out for the 2026 Schweickart Prize. The Prize awards the best new student idea in planetary defense, and related asteroid studies. CALL FOR STUDENT PROPOSALS: 2026 SCHWEICKART PRIZEhttps://www.schweickartprize.org/ Deadline: February 4, 2026. Information webinars with live Q&A… Read More »Call for 2026 Schweickart Prize
The journal Aerospace Science and Technology published “January” in eight parts, Part A-H. Yes, it’s a wide-ranging journal. The asteroid-relevant parts: Jan vol. 168 Part A Z. Sun, Z. Zhang, L. Cheng, et al. Guaranteed safety and stability neural guidance… Read More »Note, Paper: Fissured Collision Issue
The International Journal of Impact Engineering covers mostly human-level, terrestrial impacts, of course. But December (vol. 206) is one of the few astronomical-containing issues: Ma, J. Lv, H. He, Q. et al. Analysis of the contact compression stage and ejecta motion in… Read More »Note, Paper: More Impact Mastery